Comfort and the Power of the Pen

I had been in the hospital almost 2 weeks and had not had a shower in the entire time. I was miserable. I wanted and I must say I needed a shower. The nurses refused to let me have a shower. They said that my doctor had to write orders for me to have a shower and that they would not bend the rules. Those little cloths that were warmed in the microwave were just not cutting it for me anymore. I wanted a shower and I was waiting for Dr. M to write the orders. Dr. M came in at noon that day. We were learning one another pretty well by now and I saw him at least 2 times a day. When he saw my face he knew that I wanted something. I told him that I could smell myself and the nurses would not let me have a shower until he wrote the orders. My daddy would say that by the time you smell yourself, everyone else has been smelling you for 3 days. Dr. M thought that was hilarious. After that he would ask me for another pearl of wisdom from my dad almost every day.

Showering was a big ordeal. The nurses had to use plastic wrap to cover my subclavian each time I took a shower. But I did take a shower every day after Dr. M wrote the orders. He teased me a lot about the “power of my pen”. He would often ask me what he and his “powerful pen” could help me with today. Dr. M cared about my comfort. He cared about me. I thank God for Dr. M. “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.” Nahum 1:7